Topic Archives: De Proef

The next edition in De Proef’s “Brewmaster’s Collaboration” series is Broederlijke Liefde. This release is the 5th edition in the series. The collaborations feature Dirk Naughts of De Proef Brewing, Lochristi, Belgium and an American brewer. Past editions include Allagash, Bell’s, Port/Lost Abbey, and Terrapin.

What You Need To Know:
This beer is brewed by Brian O’Reilly of Sly Fox Brewing in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and De Proef. Style: Saison. Label features Philly Beer Week, when the beer will be released (June, 2011.) Contains 2 yeasts – Saison, & Brettanomyces. The name Broederlijke Liefde is Flemish/Dutch for “Brotherly Love.”

Tapping tonight at Cypress Street’s Beer Geek Tuesday the very recent Terrapin/De Proef collaboration “Monstre Rouge” will be tapped. This beer hit shelves late last week and is already hard to find.

Just to recap – “Monstre Rouge” is dubbed an Imperial Flanders Red Ale. It’s based off of Terrapin’s Big Hoppy Monster, a red ale, with rye malt added. A brettanomyces yeast was added for souring, then it sat on toasted American oak. Rouge is a ONE TIME collaboration with famed Belgian brewer Dirk Naudts of De Proef Brewing in Lochristi, Belgium.

Recently, the brewers of Terrapin Brewery (Athens, GA) traveled to Lochristi, Belgium to collaborate with De Proef Brewing. De Proef was found in 1996 by Dirk Naudts. Dirk Naudts is considered one of the leading brew masters in Belgium. De Proef (or “The Prof — Dirk’s nickname) is a highly scientific brewery that melds traditional brewing methods with modern equipment technologies. Versatility is a keyword when describing De Proef as each beer is made in a 9 Barrel brewhouse, which allows each beer to be specially crafted and unique.

Dirk’s brewing reputation spawned the collaboration project between De Proef and American brewers. Monstre Rouge is the 4th collaboration with De Proef. It’s an Imperial Flanders Red Ale. Rouge has a lot in common with Terrapin’s Big Hoppy Monster. Imagine Big Hoppy Monster (a red ale) with Rye Malt added. Then instead of an American ale yeast, one of Dirk’s specialty Belgian strains of Brettanomyces was used. There might even be some Lactobacillus in the mix. It is then aged on toasted American oak.

Recently, the brewers of Terrapin went over to Belgium to collaborate on a beer with De Proef Brewing. The beer is due out in August, but a cask is premiering today at Brick Store Pub.

The beer is an imperial flanders red ale . Spike Buckowski, head brewer at Terrapin states it is based off of “Big Hoppy Monster” a red ale. Spike’s brewing style has a German influence so he added rye malt into the mix. Brettanomyces yeast is used in Monstre Rouge, along with crystal malt and munich malt. American hop strains were used, and as a nice finishing touch Rouge was aged on American oak. This red ale will have a nice mix of both American and Belgian brewing styles.

Cypress Pint & Plate is located in Midtown Atlanta on West Peachtree Street. Cypress is a great, inviting neighborhood bar nestled downtown with a penchant for great beer. That’s exactly where my story starts.

Tuesdays are Beer Geek Tuesdays at Cypress Pint & Plate. Beer Geek/Manager Wes Andersen designs these beer geeky evenings with a special line up of beers by the glass. Here is tomorrow’s lineup (2/16) –

Schneider Aventinus — Weizenbock. (aka wheat dopplebock.) Various vintages will be available. Each release is about 8% ABV. Bottle fermented. Top fermenting yeast used. First created 1907.

Unibroue — Based out of Chambly, Quebec. Beers are bottle refermented with a process similar to champagne. Popular beers include – Blanche De Chambly, La Fin Du Monde, Maudite. Various offerings by Unibroue featured.

Terrapin —Side Project # 4 — Dos Cocas — American Porter, 5.8%. ABV. This beer was 4th in the side project series and is now retired. Chocolate (cocoa) overlays into this porter for a nice finish. I’m interested in how it aged. Well over a year old by now.

In 1996, highly regarded brewing professor and engineer Dirk Naudts created De Proef Brouwerij near Gent, Belgium. Dirk Naudts is considered one of the leading brew masters in Belgium. De Proef (or “The Prof — Dirk’s nickname) is a highly scientific brewery that melds traditional brewing methods with modern equipment technologies. Versatility is a keyword when describing De Proef as each beer is made in a 9 Barrel brewhouse, which allows each beer to be specially crafted and unique.

Dirk’s brewing reputation spawned the collaboration project between De Proef and American brewers. Bell’s Brewing was the most recent participant in the collaboration. John Mallet of Bell’s visit De Proef, and together they brewed Van Twee or “From Two” in Flemish. Van Twee was first a dark brew, resembling a Porter, but also had traits of a Belgian Dubbel.

The finishing touch to Van Twee came from Bell’s home state of Michigan. Cherry juice squeezed from sour Michigan cherries were added to give Twee a dark, fruity character. Finally, sugar from Michigan sugar beets were used for bottle conditioning. (Sugar in bottle conditioning aids in bottle carbonation, but doesn’t contribute much to ABV over time.)

Other interesting notes about Van Twee —

Brettanomyces was used in primary fermentation. It adds to the Belgian flair. Van Twee is the 3rd in the SBS imports collaboration series. Twee will shelf well. Good one for now, and probably better later.

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